The subject matter herein generally relates to a medical diagnostic imaging, and more specifically, to a system and method of navigating an object through an imaged subject.
Image-guided surgery is a developing technology that generally provides a surgeon with a virtual roadmap into a patient's anatomy. This virtual roadmap allows the surgeon to reduce the size of entry or incision into the patient, which can minimize pain and trauma to the patient and result in shorter hospital stays. Examples of image-guided procedures include laparoscopic surgery, thoracoscopic surgery, endoscopic surgery, etc. Conventional medical diagnostic imaging tools such as computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, radiological machines, etc. can be useful in providing static image guiding assistance in such procedures. The above-described imaging tools can provide two-dimensional or three-dimensional images that can be displayed to provide a surgeon or clinician with an illustrative map of an area of interest of a patient's body.
Certain tracking systems have been developed for monitoring the position and movement of a surgical instrument or object relative the above-described images. Generally, as a surgeon moves the medical instrument with respect to the patient's anatomy, virtual images of the instrument or object are displayed relative to the acquired images. These certain conventional tracking systems employ the use of passive articulated mechanical arms, electromagnetic detection, optical detection, and ultrasonic detection to track a location of the instrument with respect to the patient's anatomy. Computer programmed algorithms are then employed to track the spatial relationship between the tracked instrument or object and the acquired image.
Conventional techniques employed to measure or determine the spatial relationship between the tracked object and the acquired images includes placing fiduciary landmarks or structures on the patient. The acquired images illustrate the fiduciary landmarks as opaque spots that define a coordinate system relative to the patient. Such fiduciary landmarks located in the operating space illustrated in the acquired image are used to locate and track movement of the medical instrument through the operating space.
There is a need for a system and method of tracking that more simply and readily tracks the spatial relationship of the medical instruments or objects traveling through an operating space of patient. The system should be simple to manufacture and operate, and need not rely on illustrating fiducial marks, landmarks or structures in the acquired image of the operating space to track movement of the object therethrough.